mill_z said:
I recently became interested in forensics and I was wondering if anyone knew anything about the feild. I love anatomy so doing autopsies would be something of interest for me. What resisdency would one want to go into if they were interested in forensics or would like to perform autopsies? How competive is the field? How long is the resisdency? What is the compensation like?
Thanks
Now that I have some more time, allow me to elaborate. I'm starting pathology residency this year, and although I have no current desire to pursue forensic pathology, it was the thing that drew me into the field initially.
1. Residency: pathology (3-4 years depending on AP or CP only vs AP/CP)
2. Forensic training: 1 year fellowship after pathology residency
3. Competitiveness: historically virtually nil, although pathology got more competitive this year. Landing a forensic fellowship generally isn't too difficult, although it's such a small field that individual programs might be hard to get into in any given year.
4. Compensation: awful. Some positions will start in the 70-80K/year range, and max out in the low-mid 100's after years on the job and maximum promotions. The money to be had is in the professional witness circuit, although you have to get a lot of experience under your belt before you can make serious greenbacks doing this.
As far as I know, two of the best programs in the country for forensics are the University of New Mexico and my institution, the Medical College of Virginia (a.k.a. Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine).